PPP’s Candidate list for LGE “practically completed” – General Secretary

With Nominations Day less than two weeks away, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is aggressively preparing for the upcoming Local Government Elections (LGE), and is in the process of finalising its Candidates’ List.
This was revealed by the General Secretary of the PPP/C, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who disclosed during a press conference on Thursday that the party’s Executive Committee is meeting to approve its candidates ahead of Nominations Day on April 17.
On Nominations Day, the political parties, voluntary groups and individuals contesting the election are required to submit their lists of candidates to the returning officer in the various districts, pursuant to section 41(1) of the Local Authorities Elections Act, Chapter 28:03.
According to Jagdeo, the party has already finalised its list for all the Local Authority Areas (LAAs) that it would be contesting across the country, with the exception of one Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC).
“We’re in the process of [finalising our candidates]. We’re practically completed in every area except one NDC, where I have to go down on the ground and personally meet people, because there are lots of candidates that want to contest and we have to narrow it down to a limited amount. And I can only do it on the ground,” he explained.
The PPP General Secretary, when probed, opted not to disclose which NDC this is. However, he did reassure that this process is expected to be completed by next week.
“Now that we’re going through all of the approval processes, by Tuesday I’ll complete that. But we’re already getting our backers signing up because we know that would be necessary, and people have been given statutory forms to sign up,” he stated.
In the meantime, the party is asking potential candidates not to make any public declarations until the PPP/C’s List of Candidates is submitted on Nominations Day.
“Some people get very excited about it, and they want to jump the gun; therefore, I would urge all of them to await the submission of the candidates to GECOM (Guyana Elections Commission) and then the campaign can start,” the General Secretary stated.
The PPP/C has already indicated its intention to contest all the NDCs and municipalities at the upcoming Local Government Election, which is set for June 12, 2023.
In fact, Jagdeo had stated last month that the party is eyeing major municipalities around the country, including Georgetown in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), New Amsterdam in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and Linden in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) – all of which are traditionally strongholds of the People’s National Congress-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Opposition.
The PPP/C’s declaration of its plan to take control of the Opposition-controlled municipalities comes on the heels of uncertainty surrounding the Opposition’s participation in the LGE.
While the Alliance For Change (AFC) has already opted out of the race, the APNU is still undecided on its participation in the upcoming Local Government polls.
In fact, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton on Thursday said during his party’s press conference that while the PNC-led APNU is preparing for elections, it is still undecided whether it would contest the elections.
“We have always said that we don’t intend to let loose of our strongholds. At the level of the party, across the country we are preparing for Local Government Elections. It doesn’t necessarily follow that we will participate, but at present we see the need to prepare, we see the need to be ready,” Norton posited.
According to Jagdeo, the Opposition is confusing not only its supporters, but the country as a whole.
“So, we’re about just over a week from submitting our list of nominees for the various local government bodies and the major Opposition party in the country has not made a decision whether it would contest or not, but it’s preparing… Why are they doing it if they don’t know if they’re contesting as yet?
“Nevertheless, I think the country and his supporters and his candidates must be confused too… this is really just confusing to the country at large…,” the PPP General Secretary contended.
Jagdeo further noted that the APNU is having a hard time on the ground gathering candidates to contest the upcoming elections as well as backers for their list.
He reminded of the issue during the 2018 LGE whereby several persons in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) were misled into signing on as backers for the then APNU+AFC Coalition.
“[They] fooled a lot of people. They told them they were signing up to get house lots and then the people suddenly saw their names as backers for the [APNU+AFC’s] list in the Whim/Bloomfield area… In many other areas, they forged the signature of the backers, so we have to be very vigilant that this would not repeat itself, because they’re having a difficult time,” Jagdeo stated.
LGE, which are constitutionally due every two years, was last held in 2018. At the November 2018 Local Government polls, the then PPP/C Opposition had secured 52 of the 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs). This had followed the holding of the LGE in 2016, during which the PPP/C also claimed the majority of the LAAs.